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Bangladesh look to SA after 'no' to Pak

BCB is now unlikely to go ahead with the Pakistan tour even if the Dhaka High Court gives the go-ahead.

Karachi: Bangladesh have approached South Africa for a series in May after the postponement of a series in Pakistan, which means due to its prior commitments, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is unlikely to go ahead with the Pakistan tour even if the Dhaka High Court gives the go-ahead.

According to reports, BCB has offered Cricket South Africa (CSA) to pay all the cost, whether the series takes place in Bangladesh or South Africa. Bangladesh want to play three ODIs and five Twenty20s in May.

"We have received the request and we are in the process of checking whether it would be possible. We've got nothing against it; it's just about scheduling. At the moment, I can say it is a request we are looking at," CSA's acting chief executive, Jacques Faul, said.

The tour to Pakistan for an ODI and a Twenty20, on April 29 and 30 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, was put off after the Dhaka High Court, citing security concerns, ordered the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to postpone the tour by four weeks.

Had the tour gone ahead, Bangladesh would have been the first international team to tour Pakistan in three years since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. For the last three years, Pakistan has been a no-go zone for international teams and they had to play most of their home matches at neutral venues, mostly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

CSA will sit down with South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) and national coach Gary Kirsten before deciding on Bangladesh's request. South Africa have a packed schedule and SACA is unlikely to give a green signal for the tour as chief executive Tony Irish said it falls outside the Future Tours Programme (FTP). "Because this will fall outside the Future Tours Programme, it needs the permission of SACA to take place. And what I can say at the moment is that it is unlikely we will go through with it," he said.